The Templars
by gabs-magical-abs
Summary: Fire raged viciously through Kippernia Castle. There were no screams of help. There was nobody left to scream. The dark enemies had swept through the land with no remorse, striking anybody who entered their path. FutureSet. Action.
1. Gunther

_Hey fellow Jane and the Dragon obsessies. Before I begin, I'd just like to appologise in advance if I offend anybody with my half-god bashing stuff. I'm sorry! Oh, and if anybody if OOC, I'd just like to point out that, in my defence, everybody is older now, and when you have people that are going to kill you, you act differently. Enjoy though._

Fire raged viciously through Kippernia Castle. There were no screams of help. There was nobody left to scream. The dark enemies had swept through the land with no remorse, striking anybody who entered their path.

Just hours ago, this was the home of happiness and joy. Now it was the home of death and destruction.

The kingdom of Kippernia was poorly protected. Even with a dragon, they stood no chance.

Gunther, newly knighted, was at guard duty when they struck. A black cloud quickly flew up the path leading up to the castle. He drew his sword, as somehow they surrounded him.

"INTRUDERS!" Gunther yelled, parrying a thrust from the black clothed attackers. The blow knocked him off his feet, and gave one of the others an attack of opportunity against him.

He rolled to the side, narrowly dodging what would have no doubt been a deadly blow.

In one fluid motion, he rolled up to a crouching position, and hacked at the legs of one of the attackers. The leg was cleanly cut off, and the enemy collapsed. Guther swung his sword down and plunged it into the heart of the fallen enemy. Blood sprayed his face as he punctured the heart.

Gunther ripped the blade out rolled out of the circle, forcing his enemy to break formation. He stood up, facing them with his blade.

One of them silently charged at him, aiming to lop off his head. Gunther side stepped his attacker and stabbed him through the stomach, causing him to double over. He drew the sword out and lopped his opponents head off. His headless enemy fell down in front of him. Glancing around, he awaited the next attack. Against this many opponents, he could not be on the offensive. Doing so would no doubt mean death.

The black clad men slowly advanced towards him. Their speed confused Gunther. They had travelled so quickly up to the castle, but now they walked at a snail's pace. It wasn't right. They were obviously trying to trick him. Well, Gunther was ready if they were about to change pace suddenly.

Which, right then, one of them did. They came speeding towards him, knocking him flying. Gunther groaned as he smacked hard into the castle wall with a sickening crack. Several of his ribs snapped on the impact of the wall. Falling onto his face, Gunther screamed as he felt the disfigured ribs puncture his lungs.

His assailant walked slowly over to him, turned Gunther over and, with a smirk, kicked him hard in the ribs. Gunther's ear shattering scream finally achieved what his yells didn't.

The royal ball was taking place, and the music previously drowned out Gunther's yells, and the fight. But, nothing could drown out the last scream.

Jane, standing guard at the entrance of the hall, had heard the scream and had immediately yelled to one of the new squires to go and find Sir Ivon (Theodore had died the year before from a mysterious illness, most likely connected to that damn falcon). Unfortunately, Ivon was completely and utterly wasted at this point.

Jane swore under her breath and told the young squire to protect the hall with his life, as she ran towards the screams. She would try to put a stop to this issue before the royal family could be put in danger.

Jane stopped in her tracks as she saw the scene before her. Gunther was on the ground, blood trickling from his chest and his mouth. A black clad man stood over him, waiting for something. Twenty or so, black clad, unarmoured men stood watching the carnage in front of them, their faces covered in black hoods. Two of their fallen comrades lay in the dust.

The man hovering over Gunther asked him something that Jane could not hear. Gunther muttered something under his breath that the man obviously wasn't happy with. He raised his boot, ready to kick Gunther in the chest again. Before he could do so, however, Jane drew her sword, rushed in and stabbed him in the chest.

She quickly drew the sword out, and watched her enemy fall.

"Jane..." Gunther groaned. "Get... get everybody... out... of here... they'll kill you... all..."

Smiling slightly, Jane muttered to her fallen comrade. "You know they won't allow that."

She waited for the attack, but none came. One of the group was whispering to another member, seeking approval for something. The man nodded, and the other fell back. So, Jane had identified their leader. Hopefully, kill the head, and kill the snake. She inched forward, awaiting an attack of opportunity.

"Sir Jane!" The leader spat the name, as if it was venom on his tongue. "We are the Templers of the Church. You defy God by being a knight. As such, we have come to destroy you and this unholy place. Renounce your Knighthood and we shall finish you all off quickly. Defy us... and you shall all suffer."

Jane was dumbfounded.

"Defying God? What kind of God would not allow equity for all of his children? You do not practice what you preach Templers. It is you who should renounce you're knighthood, for it is about Honour. Slaying innocent bystanders is hardly innocent. I'm sorry, but, "Thou shalt not kill.". Will you not go to hell for such atrocities?"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH WITCH!" The leader yelled, as they all began to charge. Jane readied herself for what, she knew, would probably be the death of her.

_Hey guys, don't kill me for this please. Just view it as an awesome action story (yeah, real awesome ). I'm sorry! I really am! I would prefer to do a romantic story, but I don't know romance. Being completely unexposed to it directly in real life makes it impossible to write about something so complex... I have never been involved in a slaughter either, but I've grown up with D&D and fantasy adventure novels, so it's easier this way. Reading the death gate cycle makes you want to make every story end up with lots of people dying (like in volume 2). Oh and there is more to come later. You can bash me with reviews however. I just don't want the same fate as my characters._


	2. Smithy

The joyful music echoed throughout the hall, as couples danced merrily. The eerie scream brought out from Gunther had not reached the ears of many and those that had mistook the noise as a raven's cry.

A young blacksmith was embraced in a young woman's arms, when the distinct sound of swords hitting swords caused discord in the music. He was the only one that had heard the noise, his ears being so attuned to the sound of metal on metal.

He broke out of the embrace and grabbed the young lass by the shoulders. "There is fighting in the yard. Inform the king. I must find Jane." He kissed her quickly, before running off, searching desperately for Jane.

He walked quickly among the celebrants, pushing his way through, desperately trying to see a glimpse of red hair. He saw the next best thing: Jane's squire, Philip. He grabbed his arm, and pulled the young squire towards him.

"Philip, where is Jane?" Smithy asked the young squire desperately.

"She left to investigate the screaming. She said that I was to protect the king with my life." Philip answered nervously, his hand resting upon his hilt.

Smithy shut his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Find Lachlan. Situate yourself right next to the king. Tell him what is going on. Try to get him to go to a safer location."

Philip nodded and ran off to find his rival squire. He knew the risks when he had become a squire, but he did not think those risks would come so soon with such little training. If it came to it, would he be able to kill? He would like to think that he had the guts and determination to end somebody's life who was threatening his own, or his kings.

Smithy walked towards the courtyard. He knew doing so would possibly end in his demise, but he needed to help his friend, no matter the cost. He knew dragon had not come yet. The lack of heat and noise hinted at that. The king had sent him away for the ball, not wanting him to disrupt it or scare the foreign visitors. He had possibly dug his own grave by doing so. If Jane did not have the time to call Dragon, then he would not get here until it was too late.

The noise of metal-on-metal grew louder as he exited the hall. He reached the courtyard and realised his worst fears had been confirmed.

Black clad men blocked the entrance to the castle. Gunther was bleeding on the ground next to Jane, who stood there, sword glistening with blood, facing the group of demons. Smithy instantly new why they had not been spotted by Jane or Dragon on patrol: they were a small group, who would no doubt either travel at night, or in normal clothes.

"Well, insolent brat! We are waiting for you to renounce your vowels of knighthood. God is unhappy with you and is impatient with us for not destroying you yet. Renounce it now, and we'll end it quickly. If not, we shall have to drag it out of you, one limb at a time, until you are naught but a bloody torso with a head. Then we shall start to rape you, until you relinquish your knighthood. Only then shall we end it."

Smithy backed away silently towards his forge. He knew not how to use a blade efficiently, and efficiency was what he needed if he wanted to even stand a chance against these monsters, but place a hammer in his hand, and he was a master. He picked up his trusty hammer, kissed it for good luck, and then crept silently around the mass, preparing to flank them, to give Jane a chance to call Dragon. It may be their only hope.


End file.
